The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls

[wolfking]

TBOS tearing shit up everywhere.  Good to see.

[TAC]

Listened to it again today. I love the title track. Like I LOVE it!!!


I also really dig When The River Runs Deep. It's a different kind of tune for Maiden. Love the intro. H I assume.

[wolfking]

The whole thing is just a pleasure to listen too, it's amazing.

yeah that intro is definitely H, has his tone.

[TAC]

Walking In The Shadows is growing on me. I hate the Wasted years intro to it though, and the Fallen Angel verse. Feels lazy, but everything else is great on it.

[Mladen]

Walking In The Shadows is growing on me. I hate the Wasted years intro to it though, and the Fallen Angel verse. Feels lazy, but everything else is great on it.

Why don't I have that song on my CD?   

[wolfking]

Walking In The Shadows is growing on me. I hate the Wasted years intro to it though, and the Fallen Angel verse. Feels lazy, but everything else is great on it.

Thought you got a secret bonus track there for a second.  Yeah, those two points you mentioned are a laugh, but I love the song.  The 'into the valley, woah woah' section is just incredible.

[jjrock88]

I'm ready for some US tour dates. Just sayin'.

Can you throw Canada a bone?

[TAC]

The Valley!!


Got Accept on the mind!

[TAC]

I'm ready for some US tour dates. Just sayin'.

Can you throw Canada a bone?

Supposedly 3 US dates and then 10 US/Canadian dates.

[Kwyjibo]

Walking In The Shadows is growing on me. I hate the Wasted years intro to it though, and the Fallen Angel verse. Feels lazy, but everything else is great on it.

Since my first listen to that song it bugged me what other song they had lifted the verses from. Now you've answered it, thank you.

[wolfking]

On my first listen I shit myself when the Wasted Years intro happened and then I laughed pretty damn hard when The Fallen Angel verses started.

[TAC]

I LOVE Iron Maiden. You guys know that. But I've got a controversial thing to say.

Regarding TRaTB, without the long and awesome instrumental part, there is really not much there.

[wolfking]

I LOVE Iron Maiden. You guys know that. But I've got a controversial thing to say.

Regarding TRaTB, without the long and awesome instrumental part, there is really not much there.

I don't think it's that controversial to be honest.  The song is probably still my favourite, but mainly from those amazing melodies lines later in the instrumental section.  The first half is still good though.

[Kwyjibo]

My controversial point is, that I could do without the bass intro and outro

No seriously, I really like the first part too, especially those guitar lines accompanying the vocals, though it sometimes is Maiden buy numbers. But it's still one of the best tracks on TBOS.

[Stadler]

My controversial point is, that I could do without the bass intro and outro

No seriously, I really like the first part too, especially those guitar lines accompanying the vocals, though it sometimes is Maiden buy numbers. But it's still one of the best tracks on TBOS.

Actually, that intro and outro is - for me - the weakest part of the whole album.

[cramx3]

My controversial point is, that I could do without the bass intro and outro

No seriously, I really like the first part too, especially those guitar lines accompanying the vocals, though it sometimes is Maiden buy numbers. But it's still one of the best tracks on TBOS.

Actually, that intro and outro is - for me - the weakest part of the whole album.

Yup, that bass part is really unnecessary and adds nothing IMO.  The song is still my favorite because it rocks all around and luckily the intro/outro is actually short.

[seasonsinthesky]

I like the bass intro – moves the arrangement out of a BNW, typical Maiden choice and differentiates it from other epics. It's nice to bolster a well written (imo) song body with an intro that is instantly recognizable and unique.

[Stadler]

I like the bass intro – moves the arrangement out of a BNW, typical Maiden choice and differentiates it from other epics. It's nice to bolster a well written (imo) song body with an intro that is instantly recognizable and unique.

It sounds as if Steve's youngest kid was fiddling with his bass in between tracks.  I can't get past the part that loses it's meter a little bit.  It is, all in my own humble opinion, sloppy and not in a good way.

[wolfking]

I fucking love the intro/outro.  Epic as hell.

[Art]

The Book Of Souls (the song) is just amazing. It was a late burner for me, but now...it has "clicked" and i can´t get enough of it.

[TAC]

Art I agree. One of their best Reunion songs.

[TAC]

https://www.ironmaiden.com/global-chart-domination-for-the-book-of-souls.html

[Nick]

Not to say it didn't do well, but it's important to note that they get 2 units sold for each album they sell. That helps a lot, and frankly makes it difficult to compare against past success.

[Anguyen92]

Actually, from what I've heard in another forum, only the RIAA, when they give gold/platinum certificates, counts double albums as two copies.  I do not know if that applies to album charting units though.

Edit: All right, forgot where I saw that double albums only count as one unit for charts, but after more research, I think this clarifies it to me.

I was curious if Shania Twain's latest CD, "Up!", counts as two albums or just one on The Billboard 200? I'm fairly sure that Billboard's policy on double CDs is that they count as two units sold for each album sold. For example, Garth Brooks' "Double Live" album sold a million copies in its first week because it was double album. This might be different though because both CDs contain the same songs. Is there a policy on this?

Shania Twain's album counts as one album when it comes to the Billboard charts. In the print issue dated Dec. 14, director of charts Geoff Mayfield reports that the album has sold 1.5 million copies in its first two weeks, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That means that 1.5 million copies have been sold, not 750,000.

A lot of readers asked this question this week. I think the confusion is because of the policy of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which is the trade organization that awards gold and platinum certifications. A double album does count twice for them, so 1.5 million copies sold would be triple platinum -- but keep in mind the RIAA issues certifications based on units shipped, not units sold.

https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/73213/chart-beat-chat

[Polarbear]

Now after 7 listens, i feel confident enough to rate the songs on this album.
TBOS is a great album, but not perfect in any way.

1. The Book of Souls (One of the best songs of the reunion era!)

2. If Eternity Should Fail (Same as the title track.)

3. When The River Runs Deep (This should have been the single!)

4. The Great Unknown (This was my favorite from the album at first, still like it very much.)

5. Speed of Light (Love the Wicker Man/ Rainmaker like vibe of the song.)

6. Empire of the Clouds (Interesting experiment. I think it's just a little too long.)

7. The Man of Sorrows (Took a couple of listens to sink in, but its a cool song for sure!)

8. Tears of a Clown (Cool song with great lyrics!)

9. Death Or Glory (Ok song, not one of my favorites.)

10. Shadows of the Valley (Mediocre.)




11. The Red and the Black (I have no idea, why this song is even on this album. The Bass intro and the primary riff are pretty cool. Rest sounds like a VXI B-side.)


I would have liked if TRatB was dropped from the album. Instead there would be one more song from Murray, and one more from Gers...

[wolfking]

11. The Red and the Black (I have no idea, why this song is even on this album. The Bass intro and the primary riff are pretty cool. Rest sounds like a VXI B-side.)


I would have liked if TRatB was dropped from the album. Instead there would be one more song from Murray, and one more from Gers...

Wow.  Still number 1 for me.  Brilliant song.

[cramx3]

11. The Red and the Black (I have no idea, why this song is even on this album. The Bass intro and the primary riff are pretty cool. Rest sounds like a VXI B-side.)


I would have liked if TRatB was dropped from the album. Instead there would be one more song from Murray, and one more from Gers...

Wow.  Still number 1 for me.  Brilliant song.

Same, my fav. I could understand some of the heat, it is a fairly straight forward IM epic song, but it's pretty awesome though so I can get past that.

[Kwyjibo]

11. The Red and the Black (I have no idea, why this song is even on this album. The Bass intro and the primary riff are pretty cool. Rest sounds like a VXI B-side.)

I know opinions and tastes and so on, but the bold part can't be right, because then I wouldn't like the song as much as I do.

[425]

The Red and the Black is reminiscent of Virtual XI, yes.

Which is a good thing, because Virtual XI is awesome.

[kirksnosehair]

This may very well end up being my favorite reunion-era album of theirs.


I agree, though, that the "Empire of the Clouds" experiment didn't quite work.    It's not a bad song.  But to me it feels pretty bloated.  I could easily shave 10 to 12 minutes off it (getting rid of most of the long, long repetition of riffs) and then it would be decent.


It's the only track on the album that I don't absolutely love and that's saying a lot for a metal band that's been making albums since the early 1980's! 


One thing I think they need to consider on future albums, though, write some material in slightly lower keys so that Dickinson doesn't have to strain so much.  There are a few passages here and there -"The Great Unknown" is a good example- where he is singing stuff that is clearly out of his range.  And it sounds pretty bad in those moments when he's trying (and just barely succeeding) to hit those high notes.   

[cramx3]

I dont know, he sounds pretty awesome on the album to me.  Maybe live I will agree with you, not sure what to expect out of him live now after everything.

[wolfking]

The only song Bruce sonds slighty off is the chorus off Speed of Light, everything else, he sounds like a freaking god.

[The Holy Tune]

Probably not that controversial (and possibly stated before, couldn't read the whole thread) but the album could've done without Death or Glory and Shadows of the Valley. The whole album is amazing, I have to listen to it as a whole at least once a day except for those two songs.

Never been a big fan of the band, but the album kinda got me into their music. If the rest is half as good as this (and it certainly is better, right?), I'm sure I'll enjoy listening to them very much!

[cramx3]

Probably not that controversial (and possibly stated before, couldn't read the whole thread) but the album could've done without Death or Glory and Shadows of the Valley. The whole album is amazing, I have to listen to it as a whole at least once a day except for those two songs.

Never been a big fan of the band, but the album kinda got me into their music. If the rest is half as good as this (and it certainly is better, right?), I'm sure I'll enjoy listening to them very much!

Better to some, this is up top with their best works IMO.

Also, those two songs are great.  Im glad they were included.

[425]

I like Death or Glory and really like Shadows of the Valley. Honestly right now I think The Book of Souls/Death or Glory/Shadows of the Valley may be the best three-song run on the album.